Formerly the Rhino Report

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Democrats say tax the rich, Republicans say cut the tax base, making us less able to pay for what we need.

Democrats say save Social Security as it is, Republicans say save it by privatizing it, making us more prone to the predations of the open market.

Democrats are pro-union, Republicans are by and large anti-union.

Democrats are anti death penalty, Republicans are pro death penalty.

Democrats are pro-choice, Republicans are against the right to choose. (No one is “Pro-abortion” no matter how anyone attempts to frame it. Choice is the only proper frame of reference.)

Democrats are for a higher minimum wage, Republicans are against minimum wage.

Democrats are against tax loopholes for oil companies and other large companies, Republicans are for them.

Democrats want government to partner with businesses large and small so that business and the people can grow, Republicans, as Grover Norquist infamously put it, want government “small enough to drown in a bathtub.”

Democrats believe that protecting the environment is of the utmost importance, Republicans believe that opening up wilderness areas to drilling and other business is important, and would roll back the EPA and other necessary protections that make all of us safer and better off.

Democrats support equal opportunity legislation, Republicans have voiced the opinion that the 14th amendment should be rethought, thus throwing 150 years worth of progress away in an instant.

Democrats do not generally believe in unilateralism, Republicans generally do.

And it is because each of these things are important, and because the Democrats are morally on the right side of each of these arguments, that I am a Democrat.

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Sitting back, feet up, baseball cap pulled down tight on my head, as is my want, drinking coffee at 25 minutes after 12, listening to baseball highlights talking on to no one in particular in the background. A dull drone of pain is thrumming through my skull, but isn’t all that bad, it’s partly from eating too much today, partly from lack of sleep. I know that lack of sleep is part of the reason because every time I sit somewhere comfortable I start to fall asleep.

I haven’t been watching much in the way of news, some days I just don’t want to, and this is one of them. Kind of fried myself on it yesterday, watching news about the plane crash at the air race in Reno. It was about all I watched for the better part of an hour, and listening to it, and watching the replays over and over again of the modded out p-51 doing the maximum flash from a variety of angles. Even for normally imperturbable me, it got to wearing thin.

I have been paying attention to it somewhat though. But much of my focus has been on me. Selfish of me, I know. Running has been the main focus, and exercise as well, just trying to get my body ready for the longest run of the year, which I have tentatively scheduled for tomorrow. I’ve been pushing hard with the running, did 62 miles this week, my longest run week, distance wise, maybe ever, definitely of the year, and I’ll be trying to run roughly 1/3 of that distance when I run tomorrow.

Between that and just living my life I have really worn myself a bit thin. An amazingly odd thing, seeing how I’m not doing anything substantive.